Mary Sues: What's YOUR Diagnosis?
by CaveDwellers
Summary: [HUMOR ONLY] Breaking news: it has just been discovered that Mary Sues not only are annoying and defy the laws of physics, but they are mentally unstable! That's right folks, it's a scientific fact: real disorders for every Mary Sue! Find yours today!


Disclaimer: I disclaim any and all possible things I might be accused of claiming. (I don't have any money to sue for, anyway.)

**PLEASE READ: **Now don't get me wrong, while this is going to be a short series of Mary-Sue parodies, all of these are extremely serious, extremely real mental conditions. I'm not trying to make fun of anybody that has it, but I am trying to make a point, even if the humor is a little twisted. Maybe if you read it you'll understand what I mean, but I would like for you to keep the aforementioned thought in mind.

**.o.0.O.0.o.0.O.0.o.**

"Post-traumatic stress disorder" (or PTSD) is the term used for certain severe psychological reactions toward a person's exposure to, or confrontation with, very stressful events or situations that they perceive to be extremely traumatic. Clinically speaking, "highly traumatic events" are things such as threatened or actual death (if it's the latter, then it's obviously someone else), serious physical injury, or threat to physical and/or psychological integrity (like someone seriously threatened to rape you or mess with your head until you go insane or something like that). And it has to be something that is so intense that usual psychological defenses can't deal with.

Sometimes it is called "post-traumatic stress _reaction_", which basically means that it is a came from a traumatic experience and not some psychological condition that you had from the beginning that suddenly got really bad. PTSD is created/influenced by three primary details: the person experiencing or creating the event, the amount of time the event goes on, and it's overall intensity.

It is possible for to have traumatic stress without getting Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, as it is for people to go through traumatic situations in their lives and not develop PTSD at all. As a matter of fact, most of the people who have traumatic experiences _won't_ develop PTSD. For most, they get over particularly distressing events after several months. Most of the time, people think of PTSD as an anxiety disorder (it might even be related to panic disorder) but it shouldn't be confused with the usual grief and adjustment periods that come after traumatic events.

PTSD can have things called "triggers" outside of your mind, as well. Symptoms of this can be one or combinations or something similar to nightmares, flashbacks, emotional detachment or numbing of feelings (emotionally beating yourself up or emotionally distancing/disconnecting yourself). There is also insomnia (when you can't sleep), when you make a point of avoiding reminders [of your traumatic experience and become extremely distressed and panicky when you are exposed to these reminders (or triggers), loss of appetite (not necessarily anorexia, though there is the possibility that it might develop into that), irritability (things like snapping at somebody because they asked you if you wanted the crust cut off of your sandwich or not). There is hyper-vigilance (when you are unnecessarily watchful like, say, in the middle of a crowd where nobody knows you; this makes you look very cagey). Also, there is memory loss (may appear as difficulty paying attention), excessive startle response (like jumping ten feet into the air when somebody taps your shoulder from behind at school), clinical depression, and anxiety (nervousness). It is also possible for a person suffering from PTSD to exhibit one or more other disorders, including but not limited to: clinical depression (or bipolar disorder), general anxiety disorder, and a variety of addictions (does not necessarily have to be drugs).

PTSD has three sub forms: "Acute PTSD", something that subsides after three months. If the symptoms continue, then the diagnosis is changed to "chronic PTSD". The third is called "delayed onset PTSD" and this may come up months, years, or even decades after the event.

**.o.0.O.0.o.0.O.0.o.**

Now I don't know about you, but me and Sequel (curious? See the profile for more details) can diagnose quite a few characters with these types of problems, not just Mary-Sues. Drop a review and tell us who you think this describes, we're curious as to what you think.


End file.
